On September 6, 2021, the Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in Finland Victoria Kononchuk met with the Finnish pastor Timo Suutari from Kuhmo and the representative of the Ukrainian charity Global Christian Support - Ukraine Alina Saikova.

Since 2016, pastor Timo Suutari and Global Christian Support - Ukraine, with the support of the Ukrainian Association in Finland and the Embassy of Ukraine in Finland, have been organizing annual camps for children from eastern Ukraine in Lapland and Helsinki. 

In an effort to further expand the horizons of his activities in support of children from eastern Ukraine and draw the attention of the Finnish public to the situation in Ukraine, pastor Timo Suutari announced the opening of Café "Ukraina" in Suomussalmi in north-eastern Finland.

The café is symbolically located at Raatteentie 183, which on the way to the Winter War Museum and the monument to the Ukrainian soldiers fallen in northern Finland during the 1939-1940 Winter War "Ukraine prays for the souls of the perished". 

According to the Finnish pastor, the café opened only in June 2021, but it is already visited by 150 people every day. It is assumed that the café will work only during the tourist season (May-September), and children from eastern Ukraine will be invited to work there during their summer holidays in Finland.

To support the development of the café and to decorate it with Ukrainian motif, Second Secretary Victoria Kononchuk, on behalf of the Embassy, presented pastor Timo Suutari with Ukrainian flags, travel guides to various regions of Ukraine and other books dedicated to Ukraine.

If you drive nearby, be sure to visit the café and don't forget to invite friends!

More about café "Ukraina":  https://raatteenrauhanvartio.fi/140-2/